Smoked Pot Roast makes for delicious, mouth watering sandwiches
Warm Granny Smith Apple Pie, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, is probably as close to heaven on earth as we will get. Apple pie is sweet, flakey, tart, gooey, and crunchy all in one desert! This recipe will guide you through making an apple pie in the most expedient and straightforward way. We’ll use only granny smith apples and store bought pie crusts.
We planted a couple apple trees last year, and had our first harvest this year! We only got eight smallish granny smith apples, but they tasted great and I hope are a promise of things to come. The trees have grown by at least a couple feet since we planted them last year, and I’m super excited to make more apple based recipes in future years.
What kind of apples to use in apple pie?
In short, granny smith apples are tart and they hold up well when cooked. Sweeter apples like honeycrisp are better for eating, and tart apples like granny smiths are better for cooking.
I like to use tart apples in pies because it balances out the sweetness from all of the sugar that gets added.
Granny Smith apples also hold their shape better when cooked. Since we ostensibly want our apple pie to have slices of apples in it, this is desirable. Many sweet apples will get mushy faster when cooked.
Can I use other apples in my Granny Smith Apple Pie?
You can substitute some of the granny smith apples for other apples of your choosing. I used 8 small granny smith apples in my recipe, and you could swap 1-3 of them for other kinds of apples. This can help you make a sweeter pie and also please those who like their apples a little mushier. Here are some apple recommendations:
- Honeycrisp: A very sweet and crisp apple, it’s probably the best widespread apple on the market.
- Golden Delicious: this is a sweet apple that is often used in apple deserts.
- McIntosh: A small sweet apple that’s popular to grow in Michigan. It’s a personal favorite of mine
Should I peel my apples when making Granny Smith Apple Pie?
I view peeling apples to be a total matter of preference. To a small extent, leaving the skins on will help the apple slices stay solid in the pie, but you should just follow your personal preferences for texture. I find it easier to not skin the apples, so Ieft the skins on. My apples were also on the small side, and I didn’t want to lose the extra mass by skinning them.
Why you should really let your pie cool first
It’s super tempting to cut into that pie after it comes out of the oven, but I promise you will be disappointed! The cinnamon sugar filling will still be too liquid when it’s hot out of the oven, and won’t bind together with the apples. After you take out the first piece, you’ll see your pie is swimming in a pool of cinnamon sugar.
If you let your pie cool to near room temperature, over a couple hours, the filling will set and solidify. You can always heat up individual pieces if desired.
If you need something to snack on while you wait, why not try a fun mojito.
What kind of crust should I use?
I like to use store bought pie crusts. They’re super easy to use, pretty cost effective, and a huge time saver. You can make your own pie crusts, but you’ll end up mixing a ton of ingredients, get half your utensils dirty, spend three hours making them, and still have to roll them out and trim them down.
If that sounds fun to you, I like this pie crust recipe over at serious eats.
I’ll stick with store bought crusts.
How many apples to use in a Granny Smith Apple Pie
I used 8 small granny smith apples in my pie. Sliced up, I had enough apple slices to more or less fill a 2.5 quart mixing bowl.
You’ll want your pile of apples to be slightly convex over the top of your pie dish. As the pie cooks, the apples will break down and settle.
How to make Granny Smith Apple Pie
Granny Smith Apple Pie
Equipment
- 1 Pie dish
Ingredients
Pie crusts
- 2 Store bought pie crusts Many packs come with 2.
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Pie Filling
- 8 small Granny Smith apples about 2.5 quarts sliced
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour all purpose
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp table salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Start by washing and coring your apples. Instead of cutting the cores out, I like to slice the sides of the apple away from the core.
- Slice the apple into slices about ¼ inch thick. As you cut, submerge the slices in water to keep them from browning. Use a bowl large enough to mix the slices when done.
- When done slicing, drain the water well, then add all of the filling ingredients except the butter. Mix until well combined. The apple slices should be uniformly coated in apple pie filling goo.
- Spray your pie pan with cooking spray, then lay out one of the pie crusts inside it.
- Fill the pie dish with your apple pie filling. Dice the butter and spread the cubes around the pie.
- Lay the second pie crust over the pie, and pinch it sealed with the bottom crust. If you have significant extra overhand, tear it off.
- Cut four small ovals out of the center of the pie crust. This is both ornamental and lets the pie breath while cooking.
- Mix the egg and water together with a fork. Wash the top crust in this egg mix. This is easiest if you have a brush.
- Sprinkle sugar over the top crust.
- Bake at 425F for 20 minutes, you’ll see the crust start to brown.
- Reduce the temperature to 375F and bake for another 30 minutes. You might need to bake a little longer, the crust should be golden and the pie should be visibly bubbling from the holes.
- Let the pie completely cool before serving, at least 2 hours. Enjoy 🙂